


A Creek Christmas

by isthisusernametakenaswell



Category: South Park
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-10
Updated: 2018-08-12
Packaged: 2019-06-24 16:39:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15634608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isthisusernametakenaswell/pseuds/isthisusernametakenaswell
Summary: Christmas in South Park is like no other. Mr. Hankey, commercialism, and....maybe love is in the air.





	1. Chapter 1

The line of customers was growing steadily. In fact, it was almost out the door. On a cold winter day in South Park, where everything was coated in a thick blanket of snow and the temperatures were dipping dangerously close to negative numbers, everyone in the town seemed to have a new, desperate need for a hot cup of coffee. The coffee house had never been busier (or cramped). Tweek was glad that the townspeople had finally realized that coffee was the perfect wintertime drink. However, Tweek believed that coffee was the perfect drink all around, no matter what the season, so perhaps he was biased. 

Red was manning the register. She worked on a part-time basis, and though Tweek wasn't good friends with her, he did appreciate that she kept a cool attitude all the time-even when faced with a rowdy, out-of-control crowd. Red turned to face Tweek. She tapped the watch on her wrist, signaling that her shift had ended and it was now Tweek's turn. Panic started to creep up within Tweek. He gritted his teeth and began tugging at his hair-automatic reflexes that were triggered whenever he was faced with pressure. Shaking slightly, Tweek donned an apron and stepped behind the counter. He gulped down a cup of coffee. The shaking stopped for a moment. 

"Hello!" Butters chirped from behind the counter. His nose was red from the cold, and he gave off a distinct resemblance to a very cheerful Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. 

"Hi!" Tweek responded nervously. "Gah! I mean, what would you like to order?" 

"Uh, a hot chocolate," Butters replied. 

Tweek's nose wrinkled. "Hot chocolate? Not a coffee?" 

"Coffee's, uh, too bitter for me," Butters explained. "I mean, Eric thinks that's kind of gay-" 

"Yeah, okay," Tweek blurted out. Just mentioning Cartman made him feel instantly nervous and a little angry. He still hadn't forgotten the time he had been their replacement friend for Kenny. Though Stan and Kyle were no angels either, he was fine with them. It was mainly Cartman that pissed him off. 

"Yeah, uh, see you at school, Tweek!" Butters responded, still grinning. He shoved his hands into his pockets and wandered off to the order pick-up station, humming underneath his breath. Tweek's parents were carrying out the orders as fast as they can. "Everything all right, son?" Richard Tweak asked. 

Tweek responded with a thumbs-up, then ducked into the nearby storage room to have a small pre-lunch meltdown that consisted of him checking the news and banging his head against the wall. He emerged from the room to take the next order. Tweek relaxed as he caught sight of Token. 

"Hey Token!" Tweek prepared to enter in his order. "What do you want?" 

"Um, I don't know. What's good?" Token stuck his hands into his pockets and shifted around nervously. 

"Well, personally, I like drinking plain black coffee, but not everyone likes the taste, so if you prefer sweeter things, I'd recommend-" Tweek began to rattle off an excruciatingly long list of different orders, going in depth to explain them. There was no stuttering, random outbursts, or nervous ticks. Tweek was talking about coffee, and that was his zone. 

"Uh, yeah, that's great," Token interrupted hesitantly. "I think I'll get a black coffee." He passed down a ten dollar bill to Tweek, who stared it at in confusion. 

"Wait, our coffee's only $5," Tweek said. 

"Consider it a gift," Token said, smiling. Then, his smile faded away and he looked nervous. "Look, Tweek, I came here to talk to you. I need to tell you something." 

Tweek tugged on his hair. "Nngh. Thanks Token, but can't this wait? We're kind of busy right now." He gestured towards the long line of customers behind Token. 

"Well, not really. But don't worry. This won't take any longer than a minute," Token assured. 

"Well, alright," Tweek said.

"Listen, I was wondering if you wanted to come over to my house after your shift ends. I'm decorating the house for Christmas and I need some help. There's too many decorations," Token explained, looking desperate. "I mean, I've only finished decorating the grand foyer and it's been three days." 

"Ahhhh!" Tweek said, startling a few of the customers around him. "I mean, sure! I'll do it." 

"Great," Token said, grinning. "See you there!" 

Tweek let out a long, frustrated sigh. "Oh man, that is way too much pressure."


	2. Chapter 2

Token stepped out of the coffee shop. The warm, cozy, coffee-scented air was replaced by the howling wind. Snow slapped him in the face and Token tightened his scarf, which he had purchased on his second-ever trip to K-Mart, around his neck. He'd hitched a ride from Craig, mainly because his father couldn't wrap his head around the concept of non-valeted parking and still shuddered at his recollection of fluorescent lighting, or, in his words, "an alien blinding device." Today, Token was also hitching another ride from Craig, in his Honda. The weather was horrribly cold, and Token's teeth were chattering as he made his way towards Craig's car. The only thing that kept him from freezing over was the hot cup of cofee in his hand. He yanked the car handle open, then jumped into the backseat, hurriedly slamming the door shut behind him. He had barely taken his first sip of coffee before both Craig and Clyde turned around, both of them yelling out questions. 

Feeling warmth finally return to his fingers, Token took another sip. He held out a finger. "One at a time, one at a time," he said calmly. "And Craig, would it really kill you to turn on the heater?" 

Craig flipped the middle finger at Token. "So? Was Tweek there?" he asked eagerly. Normally, Craig's face bore no expression and he always looked bored. If not bored, pissed off. Seeing Craig so energetic and, well, hopeful was a little frightening to Token. 

"Uh, yeah, he was there," Token said, taken aback. 

"Ha!" Clyde yelled, pumping his fists in the air. "I told you guys it would work!" 

"So it worked?" Craig interjected, ignoring Clyde's outburst. 

"I mean, kind of?" Token responded, taking another sip of coffee. "He seemed a little freaked out at first-" 

"Oh god," Craig groaned, slumping over and putting his head into his hands. 

"But-you didn't let me finish! He agreed to come over to my house after his shift to help decorate," Token concluded. 

"Wait, but when is his shift over?" Craig pressed. 

A brief look of worry passed over Token's face. "Oh. Well, I forgot to ask him." 

Immediately, Clyde reached over from his seat and thumped Token across the back. "You ruined my plan, asshole!" Then, to Craig, he yelled, "What are you doing? Drive!" 

Craig's expression returned back to, well, expressionless as he began driving. A little over the speed limit, of course, but Barbrady either couldn't read or didn't care. The perks of having an illiterate cop. 

*switch to Craig's P.O.V." 

The last thing Craig was focusing on was driving. Which was unfortunate, of course, because he was the driver. However, there were much more important things running through his head right now. Tweek, of course. And...Tweek again. And Stripe, but he was always on Craig's mind. 

Tweek was Craig's 'fake boyfriend.' They'd kept up the act diligently for four years. Behind the scenes, of course, they were nothing more than really good friends. Nobody else suspected, which to Craig signaled that they didn't care, or Craig and Tweek were really good actors.

Craig took up the role of the good boyfriend. He was always looking after Tweek, making sure he wasn't going to freeze to death, keeping him calm during panic attacks, calling him pet names, and making sure he wouldn't die. Tweek, on the other hand, was as clingy as a baby octopus, so it wasn't that hard for him to stay on Craig's side. Of course, it was just that-an act. Maybe you could consider it a play, if you stretched it. Tweek and Craig showed up, said and did their lines, then departed as nothing more than friends. 

They'd broken up last spring. To this day, Craig wasn't entirely sure whose idea it had been: his or Tweek's. Maybe both. All he remembered was that they had agreed to mutually 'split up'-could they even split up? the relationship was fake, after all-and remain good friends. Four years was a long time, and they'd both agreed, in the end, that the town could not be as devastated as they were the last time they had split. Tweek and Craig had promised each other that they would still remain good friends. 

That was a lie. 

The atmosphere around them seemed tense, thick, and heavy. Neither were able to form a sentence around the other because everything seemed awkward. Now that they were no longer forced to be together, Craig and Tweek began drifiting apart. Craig returned back to hanging out with mainly Token and Clyde, while Tweek drifted around Kenny, Butters, Stan, and Kyle. However, a small part of Craig began to...miss Tweek. It was a strange feeling, because Tweek had been by Craig's side for a long time, and Craig had thought that he would've felt relieved with him gone. No. He didn't feel relieved. 

He felt empty. 

That was when Craig realized that he was a royal fuck-up. Because he was in love with his best friend. Who he had just 'broken up' with. 

And because Craig was a fuck-up, he decided to quit his job at the Coffee Bean. The next day. He thought the space would lessen his feelings. Esentially, he was trying to 'pray the gay away.' 

Craig cringed. Because thinking back, quitting his job was the second worst thing he could have done-breaking up with Tweek was the first, of course. Now, with no way to see Tweek (other than at school), Craig was missing him more than ever. Not just Tweek. Really, just about everything about him. The way his blonde hair stuck up from his head. The way he still couldn't properly button his shirt. The way how he often called Craig at random times in the middle of the night, panicking about something. His smell (freshly roasted coffee beans). And in winter, Craig craved the way that sometimes, after binge-watching Red Racer late at night, they would hold each other and eventually fall asleep on the couch. They usually ended up with Craig clutching Tweek to his chest like some kind of teddy-bear. 

So, he had caved. He'd told Clyde first, then Token. When he was explaining it, he felt stupid. No, scratch that: he felt crazy. Sure, he might've had a crush on Tweek. But, on the other hand, he wasn't sure if Tweek liked him back. That was what gnawed at him. Not knowing whether or not Tweek was feeling the same way as he was. He didn't know. What if Tweek was happier without him? It was kind of hard to gauge Tweek's emotions since he was usually panicked or on the verge of panicking. The last time Craig had seen Tweek smile was his birthday, when Craig had surprised him with an outing to the park. But that was so long ago. 

Clyde was the main driving force behind it all. He was adamant that Tweek and Craig belonged together. In fact, he had come up with the scheme just last night to get them together. It was stupid, but then again, Craig was desperate. With the sight of Token's massive three-story house (really, mansion), Craig felt a new emotion gnawing at him: fear. 

He didn't like the feeling. 

Then again, he didn't like feelings in general. 

They made life complicated.


	3. Chapter 3

Tweek's shift had ended. Not a minute too soon, because if one more person came up to him, Tweek was fairly sure that he would combust. Strangers in general made him twitchy, dealing with them made him want to rip his hair out. He untied his apron (a struggle that lasted a good five minutes, considering that his fingers were twitching) and chucked it into his messenger bag. He walked towards the back of the coffee shop and made his exit at the back of the shop, where his bike was resting. Most kids his age had cars, or at least drove their parent's cars, but Tweek still rode his bike. Even in freezing, sub-zero temperatures. Tweeks' parents didn't think it was wise to trust Tweek with driving (personally, Tweek agreed. Just thinking about driving summoned thoughts of car accident statistics, which made him feel...itchy.). 

The weather had gotten worse, if that was possible. The wind was screaming, and everything in front of Tweek was white. Snow was falling heavily. Tweek dusted the snow off of his bike, shaking. He thought to go inside to borrow a scarf or a jacket from someone, but he didn't feel like talking, so he went against it. Hopping onto his bike, Tweek began to pedal. Five minutes in, he was starting to seriously regret his decision not to wear more winter-friendly clothes. Tweek was freezing to death. 

"Aaah! I'm going to die!" he screamed, more to himself than anything. Still shaking, he paused from bicyling and wrapped his arms around himself in a hug. He could make out Token's house from up ahead. It was the most massive building in town, so it wasn't that hard to spot. But he was cold. And tired. And lazy. And...he didn't really want to pedal anymore.

"Tweek?" He heard someone yell from a distance. The figure was blurry from here, but it was coming towards him and small details were becoming apparent. The person was tall. Fairly skinny. Tweek thought the person looked familiar, but there was no way of telling. The person grew closer. Tweek caught sight of black skinny jeans, a blue coat...and a blue hat with a yellow poofball on it. "Craig?" he squeaked out. 

Craig, who was tall (six foot two) loomed over Tweek, who was five foot six and felt like a dwarf in his presence. Just seeing Craig brought back memories. And thoughts. And emotions. 

"Oh man," Tweek muttered to himself, twitching. Craig and him had broken up last spring. Tweek had thought that they would be able to remain good friends, but, of course, it didn't turn out like that. At all. In fact, Craig started talking less and less to Tweek, to the point that they barely said a word to each other. From there, it evolved to the ocasional head-nod or grunt. And then, Craig left his position at the Coffee Bean, thus proving that he wanted nothing to do with Tweek. They hadn't talked since. Tweek was, justifiably, confused and concerned. How did they go from best friends (and fake boyfriends) to virtually strangers? It made Tweek's head hurt to think about it. Besides, Tweek missed having Craig by his side. Who else could he call late at night with random thoughts? Who else would walk with him at school and suffer through his lengthy rants about conspiracies? Who else would listen patiently to him as he rambled about coffee? Tweek missed Craig when he thought about him (often) but since Craig didn't want anything to do with him, apparently, he hadn't pursued the matter. 

Well, until now. 

"Hi Craig! Gahh! I mean, what are you doing here?" Tweek was still shaking from the cold. 

Craig looked startled for a second (or maybe it was Tweek's imagination). Then, he shoved his hands into his pocket. "I'm here to help Token decorate. What are you doing here?" 

"Me too! Nngh. I mean, Token asked me to help him decorate," Tweek explained. It was odd, having a conversation with Craig. 

Craig frowned. "Tweek, it's negative degrees out here. You need to be wearing more than just a shirt. You must be freezing." He took off his coat and threw it over Tweek. 

Tweek tugged at his hair. Craig's coat was warm and soft and it smelled just like him. He wrapped it around himself tighter before looking up at Craig. Everything he did was confusing now. Tweek wasn't sure if it was a peace gesture or just an act of pity or something else. "Thanks," he said. It was the only thing he could think of saying. Really, Tweek didn't want to talk. He just wanted to stay in Craig's coat and bask in its warmth and-

"You're welcome," Craig muttered. 

He stalked off towards the house, leaving Tweek no choice but to follow along. 

"Jesus! Slow down Craig, you're walking too fast!"


	4. Chapter 4

The walk to Token's house seemed like it would never end. The two of them walked silently. Craig didn't mind silence, but when he was around Tweek, it seemed unnatural. Not to have Tweek spazzing out or making dark predictions or reciting darker statistics was just odd to Craig. He snuck another look at Tweek, observing how his small, five foot four figure was engulfed by his coat and surpressed a small grin. God, that was adorable. 

No, correction. He was adorable. 

Tweek's pale blonde hair stuck out at odd points while softly curling in on others. Craig had used to love to joke about how Tweek always looked like he had just stuck a finger into an electrical socket. That still held true, but Tweek still made it adorable. Craig wasn't sure how, or what kind of sorcery that was, but he did. He remembered when he had flat-ironed Tweek's hair back when being 'metrosexual' was cool, but the end result was horrible. Tweek looked nothing like himself. Craig shuddered at the memory. Thank God metrosexuality turned out to be just a fad and nothing more. 

"C-Craig?" 

Craig flinched, as if someone had slapped him. He stopped walking and slowly turned to look over at Tweek, who was wearing a thoughtful expression as he gripped the ends of Craig's coat with his fingers. 

"Why'd we stop being friends?" 

There it was. The elephant in the room, so to speak. To hear Tweek say it so clearly, without any hesitations or any of his tics, made Craig wonder exactly how long Tweek had been itching to say it. 

So Craig said the only thing he could say (the only thing he could think of). "I don't know." His voice was flat. Was it his imagination or did a look of...something flash over Tweek's face? He frowned and shook himself back into reality. 

"Craig?" 

He flinched again. Craig scolded himself. He really needed to get that under control. 

"Oh Jesus! Nngh. Craig can we just be friends again!" Tweek blurted out. He tugged on a fistful of his hair. The look on his face was pure Tweek-that is to say, panicked. Instinctively, Craig moved closer to Tweek and wrapped an arm around him. Having Tweek so close to him stirred up all kinds of memories. He could smell the coffee coming from Tweek and somehow, Craig felt safer (and less worried about Tweek) like this. It was nice to feel so warm and cozy with Tweek against him.

"Tweek, calm down," he said quietly. Craig hesitated on the next line. "Yes, I'll be your friend." 

Seeing Tweek break out into a genuine smile was worth it. 

At the same time, Craig felt a sinking sensation in his stomach as he realized he had just uttered a lie to Tweek. It was the first time. 

And hopefully, the last time. 

Because Craig?

He couldn't be just friends with Tweek.


End file.
